Newbie help needed quick for a gathering tomorrow- 16lb Pork Shoulder

mxzebrax · Jun 9, 2017

Hi all! This is my first post here and I really hope I can get some advice. I'm hosting a family get together tomorrow with ~20 people and promised pulled pork.

Cooking on a Traeger Lil Tex Elite.

I bought a 16lb pork shoulder and now I'm concerned about my timing; gathering starts at 4:00 in the afternoon, and i've seen the basic rule is 1.5-2 hrs per lb, but I don't think I've got the time/patience to get that done- I've got to watch 3 kids between now and then.

I've not unwrapped the pork yet to see if it's all one piece or not, but even if not, would it be preposterous to cut it in half? My plan was to do the typical low and slow for pulled pork- 3 hrs at 225 and then the rest of the day at 250, and starting it at about 5 am. Was also planning on spritzing with apple juice every hour-ish (though i saw elsewhere someone suggested leaving a can of apple juice in the smoker to reduce the amount of times the lid would need to be opened.

Anyways- all this to say; main questions:

If it's not two pieces already, can I cut in half; and if so, would that reduce the cook time?

General tips on how to get this dang thing done!

Thanks a ton for helping out!

tropics · Jun 9, 2017

It would help if you told us what kind of smoker you are using

Richie

mxzebrax · Jun 9, 2017

Yes- realized that after posting and edited original post- Traeger Lil Tex Elite! Like I said- Newbie!

tropics · Jun 9, 2017

If it is one piece you can cut it. I would not recommend spritzing that much.You may want to foil it when it stalls,check it with a meat probe and a tooth pick to be sure its tender.

Richie

noboundaries · Jun 9, 2017

If you bought the 16 lbs of pork shoulder at Costco, it is two 8 lb boneless butts (shoulder cut of meat). The timing for two 8 lb butts would be the same as one 8 lb butt because timing is by the largest cut of meat, not total weight. If you have one 16 lb cut of meat, the timing would be for a 16 lb cut.

Where did you buy the pork shoulder?

lancep · Jun 9, 2017

Well the great thing about a pellet smoker is the ability to set it and walk away. Pork should is about the easiest thing to smoke so you're going to be fine. My suggestion would be to put it on in the evening and wrapp it when you wake up. If it gets done early you can wrap it in an old towel and hold it in a dry cooler until it's time to pull.

mxzebrax · Jun 9, 2017

Bought it at Cash and Carry - not sure if they're national, but it's a restaurant supply chain in the west.

So, if it's not two separate, I can cut it in half and treat it as an 8 pounder, which is MUCH preferred. (it is boneless)

Bearcarver · Jun 9, 2017

Noboundaries said:
If you bought the 16 lbs of pork shoulder at Costco, it is two 8 lb boneless butts (shoulder cut of meat). The timing for two 8 lb butts would be the same as one 8 lb butt because timing is by the largest cut of meat, not total weight. If you have one 16 lb cut of meat, the timing would be for a 16 lb cut.

Where did you buy the pork shoulder?

What Ray said, It's more than likely two Butts in that wrapper.

Also You could cut them in half the thin way to make them get done even quicker & give you almost twice as much Bark.

So if they are 4" X 8" X 10", turn each one into two pieces 2" X 8" X 10". Works Great !!

Bear

sauced · Jun 9, 2017

Yes, I have to believe that there are 2 butts in the package as I have not yet seen a single 16lb pork butt for sale. If boneless, yes, you can cut it in half.

jokensmoken · Jun 9, 2017

I recently started experimenting with hotter and faster smokes.
Not real real hot, but when I get my pit temp to the 290°-300°F range my time per pound is much closer to 1 hour and I haven't noticed any difference in the quality, flavor, tenderness or juiciness of my butts...wrapping at about 160°F IT will also cut several hours off your cook time.
Good luck...post us some pics...

Walt

lancep · Jun 9, 2017

Yeah I'm not really a hot and fast kind of guy but my pit likes to run 265-290 with a wood fire. Adapt and overcome I say! Still making great BBQ. However, from what I've read on pellet cookers, they don't produce much smoke at higher temps so that might not an option until later in the cook.

Lance

JohnEB · May 2, 2020

noboundaries said:
If you bought the 16 lbs of pork shoulder at Costco, it is two 8 lb boneless butts (shoulder cut of meat). The timing for two 8 lb butts would be the same as one 8 lb butt because timing is by the largest cut of meat, not total weight. If you have one 16 lb cut of meat, the timing would be for a 16 lb cut.

Where did you buy the pork shoulder?

Today I just got the Costco boneless pork shoulder (15.15 lbs) and have not seen here (yet) if anyone has addressed if the cook time is significantly different for an 8 lb BONELESS and strung together shoulder versus a bone-in and self-composed shoulder.

Any insight would be great. I've smoked a few bone-in at this size, but am just wondering if NOT having the bone decreases time.

Someone previously said that the final resulting meat should be about the same, but am now wondering about this, as well. Had to string these bad boys together and steal meat from one of the halves to give to the other and frankenstein string it together to get equal sized roasts.

But again, any insight into whether bone-LESS requires LESS time.

THANKS!

noboundaries · May 2, 2020

When you open the package you'll find two pork shoulders and they won't be strung together. That said I've done them each tied and untied but kind of folded over so the weight of the roast keeps it together. Once it starts cooking, it will open up anyway. Time for two butts is the same as one. Time for boneless is a little shorter, but not much.

JohnEB · May 2, 2020

noboundaries said:
When you open the package you'll find two pork shoulders and they won't be strung together. That said I've done them each tied and untied but kind of folded over so the weight of the roast keeps it together. Once it starts cooking, it will open up anyway. Time for two butts is the same as one. Time for boneless is a little shorter, but not much.

Thanks for your reply. And yeah...I was a bit surprised to see that it was just a couple of unbound masses of meat, but just kind of looked at what was there and tried to even them up and tie them as practically as possible. Was interesting. Going to miss extracting the bone! Thanks again!

noboundaries · May 2, 2020

JohnEB said:
Thanks again!

Happy to help!

Newbie help needed quick for a gathering tomorrow- 16lb Pork Shoulder

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